1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to that portion of a stringed instrument referred to as the nut. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement in the design configuration of the nut which develops improved sound transfer through the nut or other string support items positioned at extreme ends of the instrument such as the tail piece and saddle.
2. Prior Art
The bridge of stringed instruments has long been the focus of design innovation with the objective of improving sound transfer into the body of the instrument. It is generally believed that the bridge, sound post (positioned within the body of the instrument) and the instrument body itself constitute the critical parts of sound generation in such instruments as violins, violas, cellos, guitars, banjos, etc.
A great variety of bridge design has developed and is represented by the following patents. U.S. Pat. No. 1,783,117 by Gosparlin and U.S. Pat. No. 2,446,267 by Dahn show conventional F-holes slightly modified to improve sound transfer. U.S. Pat. No. 642,416 by Beetem illustrates a multipiece bridge in which each string is separately supported by a post. U.S. Pat. No. D. 43,358 by Goodyear depicts an artistic design for a bridge having separate columns or support members for each string of the instrument mounted on a common base. U.S. Pat. No. 1,852,509 by Dolan proposes a bridge that suspends the strings on a support cord journalled across support columns on the bridge. Finally U.S. Pat. No. 2,343,384 by McDonald discloses curved fingers that project upward to support individual strings, each finger being tailored in size to relate to the depth of pitch for the intended string.
Although the extremes of design represented by the above cited patents suggest many directions of innovation, virtually all commercial bridge design has retained the traditional configuration of a single, integral body having F-holes within the bridge body and having an uninterrupted crown of moderate curvature to support the strings. For banjos and guitars, the crown of the bridge is a flat configuration, uninterrupted by slots, F-holes or the like. No significant interest or effort has been extended toward modifying other parts of the stringed instrument for improving sound quality, such as with the nut, saddle and tail piece.
Generally, the nut of a stringed instrument is the raised ledge at an upper end of the instrument neck over which the strings pass and are suspended in raised relation to the fingerboard or frets. A typical nut configuration is shown in FIG. 1. The nut body 10 comprises a single piece of ebony, wood, plastic or other hard material which has a front face 11, back face 12, side faces 13 and 14, base 15 and a crown 16. The front face typically butts against a top end of the fingerboard (not shown in FIG. 1). The base is configured to provide for a snug fit of the nut with respect to the neck of the instrument. The side walls may be decorated with flourishment but have not been considered as serving any other significant purpose.
The primary function of the nut has been to suspend the strings of the instrument over the fingerboard. Accordingly, the crown 16 is typically adapted with small grooves 17 cut diagonally as shown to provide a seat for the supported strings. This positioning factor has been the only design consideration applied toward innovation of the nut.
For example, two U. S. patents have issued dealing with nut modifications. U.S. Pat. No. 2,309,082 by Smith discloses a nut for a guitar which is slotted with two sets of slots for varying the height of the strings above the frets. The shallow slots or groove function in a traditional manner, while the deeper slots allow string positioning very close to the frets at the base of the slots. U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,524 by Jones shows an arrangement of multiple nut pieces which can be displaced along the string for purposes of fine tuning.
It is not surprising that those skilled in the art would disregard the nut of the instrument when seeking to improve sound production. Logically, there should be little effect for sound transfer from the strings through the nut. It is generally acknowledged that placement of a finger on the string would stop vibration of the string, except between the bridge and the finger. Indeed, the purpose of the fingerboard or fret is to enable reduction of effective string length which is subject to vibration and thereby increase the frequency or pitch. In short, vibration of the strings is dampened by depression to the fingerboard or frets and should therefore defeat sound transfer into the nut. Furthermore, sound vibrations in a stringed instrument are amplified through the resonant body of the instrument. Therefore, any vibration energy passing into the nut would have to travel the length of the neck before adding effect to the total resonant output. Perhaps these considerations have contributed to a clear disregard for improved design of the nut for a stringed instrument over the past several hundred years.